Base item - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: pothole

2026-01-15T00:43:06Z

pothole

Umbire the Phantom: some copyedit

2025-07-12T07:25:57Z

some copyedit

Umbire the Phantom: pothole

2025-04-11T20:19:08Z

pothole

Umbire the Phantom: potholes et. al.

2025-03-04T06:17:28Z

potholes et. al.

Umbire the Phantom: /* EvilHack */ space

2024-02-29T02:42:02Z

‎EvilHack: space

Umbire the Phantom: /* Variants */ update

2024-02-29T02:41:52Z

‎Variants: update

Umbire the Phantom: small tweaks

2023-07-15T20:50:45Z

small tweaks

Umbire the Phantom: formatting, phrasing, ver

2023-06-11T00:12:15Z

formatting, phrasing, ver

Umbire the Phantom: /* Other base items */

2021-04-18T19:50:02Z

‎Other base items

Umbire the Phantom: /* Rare base items */

2020-12-19T23:56:27Z

‎Rare base items

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 * [[heavy mace]] (new base item for [[Demonbane]])
 * [[heavy war hammer]] (new base item for [[Mjollnir]] and [[Ogresmasher]])
-* [[rod]] (base item for the [[Wand of Orcus (EvilHack)|Wand of Orcus]], new base item for [[The Sceptre of Might]])
+* [[Rod (EvilHack)|rod]] (base item for the [[Wand of Orcus (EvilHack)|Wand of Orcus]], new base item for [[The Sceptre of Might]])
 * [[triple-headed flail]] (base item for [[Butcher]])
 {{nethack-367}}
 [[Category:Artifacts]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 In ''[[NetHack]]'', the '''base item''' of an [[artifact]] is the type of [[item]] that the artifact appears as. When an artifact is unidentified, it will be described as a named variation of its base item, e.g. "a blessed [[amulet of ESP]] named [[The Eye of the Aethiopica]]".
-Artifacts will have all the properties of their base items in addition to any of the artifact's special abilities. If your [[quest artifact]] or any other artifact that already exists in your current game would be found in a [[bones]] level, the bones artifact will be reverted to its normal base item.
+Artifacts will have all the properties of their base items in addition to any of the artifact's special abilities. If the [[quest artifact]] of the [[hero]]'s role or any other artifact that already exists in the current game would be found in a [[bones]] level, the bones artifact will be reverted to its normal base item.
 ==Rare base items==
@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 * [[tsurugi]] ([[Tsurugi of Muramasa]])
-In addition to bones, athames very infrequently appear in the [[Monster starting inventory|starting inventory]] of a [[master lich]], [[arch-lich]] or a [[player monster]] [[wizard (player monster)|wizard]], making it possible for the player to obtain at least one eventually. The other two are not randomly generated at all, and are generally only found in a bones level during a game where you have already generated their artifacts; these base items can also be obtained by [[wishing]].
+In addition to bones, athames very infrequently appear in the [[Monster starting inventory|starting inventory]] of a [[master lich]], [[arch-lich]] or a [[player monster]] [[wizard (player monster)|wizard]], making it possible for the player to obtain at least one eventually. The other two are not randomly generated at all, and are generally only found in a bones level during a game where the hero has already generated their artifacts; these base items can also be obtained by [[wishing]].
 ===Other base items===
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 [[Sting]] and [[Orcrist]] are special among artifacts in that they can be created by using the #[[name]] or #[[call]] command to name their base items. Any [[elven dagger]] can be named Sting to create it, while any [[elven broadsword]] can be named Orcrist to create it.
-Creating Sting and Orcrist early via naming is commonly used to "force" [[Stormbringer]] as the first [[sacrifice gift]] for a [[chaotic]] character, since naming both artifacts only leaves Stormbringer and [[Grimtooth]] as the remaining chaotic-aligned artifacts in the sacrifice gift pool; elves are a common choice for players attempting this, as they will never receive Grimtooth as a sacrifice gift. However, the chances of receiving an artifact as a sacrifice gift after the first are decreased, as are your chances of receiving an artifact via wishing. Each weapon also has its own pros and cons with regards to early creation; see the articles on Sting and Orcrist for more information on each.
+Creating Sting and Orcrist early via naming is commonly used to "force" [[Stormbringer]] as the first [[sacrifice gift]] for a [[chaotic]] character, since naming both artifacts only leaves Stormbringer and [[Grimtooth]] as the remaining chaotic-aligned artifacts in the sacrifice gift pool; elves are a common choice for players attempting this, as they will never receive Grimtooth as a sacrifice gift. However, the chances of receiving an artifact as a sacrifice gift after the first are decreased, as are the chances of receiving an artifact via wishing. Each weapon also has its own pros and cons with regards to early creation&mdash;see the articles on Sting and Orcrist for more information on each.
 ==History==
 In [[NetHack 3.4.3]] and earlier versions, including some variants based on these versions, the [[naming artifacts]] trick could be used to distinguish the identities of certain base items such as [[luckstone]]s; this is a result of the code to prevent non-artifacts being made into artifacts via naming. Specifically, attempting to give an object an artifact's name, outside of the aforementioned Sting and Orcrist, forces your hand to slip and mis-engrave it&mdash;but ''only'' if that object is of the same exact item type as the artifact's base item, e.g. naming a [[gray stone]] [[The Heart of Ahriman]] would only mis-engrave if it was a luckstone.
-The mis-engraving is fixed in [[NetHack 3.6.0]] by having any attempt to name an item in the same category as an artifact after that artifact fail and force your hand to slip&mdash;e.g., any gray stone will now mis-engrave if named The Heart of Ahriman.
+The mis-engraving is partially fixed in [[NetHack 3.6.0]] by having any attempt to name an item in the same category as an artifact after that artifact fail and force your hand to slip&mdash;e.g., any gray stone will now mis-engrave if named The Heart of Ahriman.
 ==Variants==
@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 [[SporkHack]] adds a few new base items to go with changes to some of the artifacts:
-* [[silver mace]] (new base item for [[Demonbane]])
+* [[Silver mace (SporkHack)|silver mace]] (new base item for [[Demonbane]])
 ===EvilHack===
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 * [[heavy mace]] (new base item for [[Demonbane]])
 * [[heavy war hammer]] (new base item for [[Mjollnir]] and [[Ogresmasher]])
-* [[rod]] (base item for the [[Wand of Orcus (EvilHack)|Wand of Orcus]], new base item for the [[Sceptre of Might]])
+* [[rod]] (base item for the [[Wand of Orcus (EvilHack)|Wand of Orcus]], new base item for [[The Sceptre of Might]])
 * [[triple-headed flail]] (base item for [[Butcher]])
 {{nethack-367}}
 [[Category:Artifacts]]

@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 [[EvilHack]] adds several more artifacts and changes the base items of many existing artifacts:
-* [[Atlatl (EvilHack)|atlatl]] (base item for [[Xiuhcoatl]])
+* [[Atlatl (EvilHack)|atlatl]] (base item for [[Xiuhcoatl (EvilHack)|Xiuhcoatl]])
 * [[eight ball]] (base item for the [[Magic 8-Ball]])
 * [[heavy mace]] (new base item for [[Demonbane]])

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 In [[NetHack 3.4.3]] and earlier versions, including some variants based on these versions, the [[naming artifacts]] trick could be used to distinguish the identities of certain base items such as [[luckstone]]s; this is a result of the code to prevent non-artifacts being made into artifacts via naming. Specifically, attempting to give an object an artifact's name, outside of the aforementioned Sting and Orcrist, forces your hand to slip and mis-engrave it&mdash;but ''only'' if that object is of the same exact item type as the artifact's base item, e.g. naming a [[gray stone]] [[The Heart of Ahriman]] would only mis-engrave if it was a luckstone.
-This is fixed in [[NetHack 3.6.0]] by having any attempt to name an item in the same category as an artifact after that artifact fail and force your hand to slip - e.g., any gray stone will now mis-engrave if named The Heart of Ahriman.
+The mis-engraving is fixed in [[NetHack 3.6.0]] by having any attempt to name an item in the same category as an artifact after that artifact fail and force your hand to slip&mdash;e.g., any gray stone will now mis-engrave if named The Heart of Ahriman.
 ==Variants==
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 [[EvilHack]] adds several more artifacts and changes the base items of many existing artifacts:
-* [[atlatl]] (base item for [[Xiuhcoatl]])
+* [[Atlatl (EvilHack)|atlatl]] (base item for [[Xiuhcoatl]])
 * [[eight ball]] (base item for the [[Magic 8-Ball]])
 * [[heavy mace]] (new base item for [[Demonbane]])

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 * [[heavy mace]] (new base item for [[Demonbane]])
 * [[heavy war hammer]] (new base item for [[Mjollnir]] and [[Ogresmasher]])
-* [[rod]] (base item for the [[Wand of Orcus (EvilHack)|Wand of Orcus]], new base item for the [[Sceptre of Might]] )
+* [[rod]] (base item for the [[Wand of Orcus (EvilHack)|Wand of Orcus]], new base item for the [[Sceptre of Might]])
 * [[triple-headed flail]] (base item for [[Butcher]])
 {{nethack-367}}
 [[Category:Artifacts]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The '''base item''' of an [[artifact]] is the type of item that the artifact appears as. When an artifact is unidentified, it will be described as a named variation of its base item, e.g. "a blessed [[amulet of ESP]] named [[The Eye of the Aethiopica]]".
+In ''[[NetHack]]'', the '''base item''' of an [[artifact]] is the type of item that the artifact appears as. When an artifact is unidentified, it will be described as a named variation of its base item, e.g. "a blessed [[amulet of ESP]] named [[The Eye of the Aethiopica]]".
 Artifacts will have all the properties of their base items in addition to any of the artifact's special abilities. If your [[quest artifact]] or any other artifact that already exists in your current game would be found in a [[bones]] level, the bones artifact will be reverted to its normal base item.
@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 The following base items are not randomly generated on the floor or as death drops in a vanilla game of ''[[NetHack]]'':
-*[[athame]] ([[Magicbane]])
+* [[athame]] ([[Magicbane]])
-*[[runesword]] ([[Stormbringer]])
+* [[runesword]] ([[Stormbringer]])
-*[[tsurugi]] ([[Tsurugi of Muramasa]])
+* [[tsurugi]] ([[Tsurugi of Muramasa]])
 In addition to bones, athames very infrequently appear in the [[Monster starting inventory|starting inventory]] of a [[master lich]], [[arch-lich]] or a [[player monster]] [[wizard (player monster)|wizard]], making it possible for the player to obtain at least one eventually. The other two are not randomly generated at all, and are generally only found in a bones level during a game where you have already generated their artifacts; these base items can also be obtained by [[wishing]].
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 The items used for the [[Invocation]], referred to as [[unique items]] by the game, have unique base appearances when unidentified:
-*silver [[bell]] ([[Bell of Opening]])
+* silver [[bell]] ([[Bell of Opening]])
-*candelabrum ([[Candelabrum of Invocation]])
+* candelabrum ([[Candelabrum of Invocation]])
-*papyrus [[spellbook]] ([[Book of the Dead]])
+* papyrus [[spellbook]] ([[Book of the Dead]])
 While not considered artifacts by the game, these "invocation artifacts" function similarly - they are also "one-per-game" objects, but cannot ever be wished for in any form, since they will appear in every game. Attempting a wish for one will instead give the player a more mundane counterpart (i.e. a regular bell, a [[candle]], and a [[blank spellbook]] respectively); the items will also revert to these mundane forms when found in a bones file.
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 Creating Sting and Orcrist early via naming is commonly used to "force" [[Stormbringer]] as the first [[sacrifice gift]] for a [[chaotic]] character, since naming both artifacts only leaves Stormbringer and [[Grimtooth]] as the remaining chaotic-aligned artifacts in the sacrifice gift pool; elves are a common choice for players attempting this, as they will never receive Grimtooth as a sacrifice gift. However, the chances of receiving an artifact as a sacrifice gift after the first are decreased, as are your chances of receiving an artifact via wishing. Each weapon also has its own pros and cons with regards to early creation; see the articles on Sting and Orcrist for more information on each.
-In [[NetHack 3.4.3]] and earlier versions, [[naming artifacts]] could be used to distinguish the identities of certain base items such as [[luckstone]]s; this is a result of the code to prevent non-artifacts being made into artifacts via naming. Specifically, attempting to give an object an artifact's name, outside of the aforementioned Sting and Orcrist, forces your hand to slip and mis-engrave it&mdash;but ''only'' if that object is of the same exact item type as the artifact's base item, e.g. naming a [[gray stone]] [[The Heart of Ahriman]] would only mis-engrave if it was a luckstone. As of [[NetHack 3.6.0]], this is fixed by having any attempt to name an item in the same category fail and force your hand to slip (e.g. any gray stone will now mis-engrave using the above trick).
+==History==
 ==Variants==
 ===SporkHack===
 [[SporkHack]] adds a few new base items to go with changes to some of the artifacts:
@@ Line 36: / Line 38: @@
 ===EvilHack===
-[[EvilHack]] adds several more artifacts, including ones with new base items:
+[[EvilHack]] adds several more artifacts and changes the base items of many existing artifacts:
 * [[atlatl]] (base item for [[Xiuhcoatl]])
 * [[eight ball]] (base item for the [[Magic 8-Ball]])
 * [[heavy mace]] (base item for the [[Wand of Orcus]], new base item for the [[Sceptre of Might]] and [[Demonbane]])
-* [[heavy war hammer]] (new base item for [[Mjolnir]] and [[Ogresmasher]])
+* [[heavy war hammer]] (new base item for [[Mjollnir]] and [[Ogresmasher]])
 * [[triple-headed flail]] (base item for [[Butcher]])
 [[Category:Artifacts]]

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 *papyrus [[spellbook]] ([[Book of the Dead]])
-While not considered artifacts by the game, these "invocation artifacts" function similarly - while they are also "one-per-game" objects, they cannot ever be wished for in any form, since they will appear in every game. Attempting a wish for one will instead give the player a more mundane item (i.e. a regular bell, a [[candle]], and a [[blank spellbook]] respectively); the items will also revert to these mundane forms when found in a bones file.
+While not considered artifacts by the game, these "invocation artifacts" function similarly - they are also "one-per-game" objects, but cannot ever be wished for in any form, since they will appear in every game. Attempting a wish for one will instead give the player a more mundane counterpart (i.e. a regular bell, a [[candle]], and a [[blank spellbook]] respectively); the items will also revert to these mundane forms when found in a bones file.
 ==Naming base items==